Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s Joe Smoldt (20) soars in for a layup against North Tama’s Dylan Clausen Tuesday in a Class 1A District 5 semifinal in Reinbeck. Smoldt scored a game-high 23 points and the top-ranked Rebels rolled to an 83-40 victory. Photo by Tyler Strand

REINBECK – Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s prolific offense can go point-for-point with the best of them.

It’s when the defense connects several stops that the Rebels really get going.

Breaking out of the gates with a 21-2 lead, the Class 1A No. 1 Gladbrook-Reinbeck boys basketball team cruised to an 83-40 victory in a District 5 semifinal Tuesday.

Joe Smoldt scored a game-high 23 points and Camden Kickbush drained six 3-pointers for 22 as the Rebels ran off 20 straight points in the third to ice the win.

“What we need to get better at is when we’re missing shots we seem to lack on defense,” Kickbush said. “When we miss shots we just need to play better defense and that’s what we got better at in the second half.”

The Rebels (23-0) advance to Thursday’s district final for a rematch with Jesup at 7 p.m. The J-Hawks (16-7) defeated No. 10 Meskwaki Settlement 71-60 in the early game and gave the Rebels one of their stiffest tests of the season in a 52-51 contest in Jesup.

Zach Pierce added 13 points and Cameron Clark grabbed a team-best eight rebounds as G-R buried 13 shots from beyond the arc and set the continuous clock in motion midway through the third.

The Redhawks (12-11) steadied themselves a bit after the opening onslaught and pulled back within 25-13 early in the second on a Paul Kaufmann 3-pointer. North Tama matched G-R for a while before the Rebels added some extra cushion with a 9-0 flurry in the final 84 seconds of the half.

Pierce converted a three-point play, Kickbush drilled a 3 and Smoldt scored in transition to open the floodgates. Kickbush connected again from deep and defensive specialist Colton Dinsdale ended the half with a layup to extend the gap to 50-21.

Smoldt scored eight straight for the Rebels after halftime and his first of back-to-back treys triggered the continuous clock at 62-27 with 4:29 in the third. Luke Holman and Josh Cooley hit consecutive 3s during the surge before Tyler Eiffler capped the run with a jumper to stretch the margin to 75-27.

“We like running, we like playing fast and just looking for the open guy,” Kickbush said. “We look for who’s hot and just kind of go with the game and it just kind of takes care of itself.”

Compared to their first meeting last month, the Redhawks took much better care of the ball though numerous one-and-done trips and a scorching shooting effort by G-R put the Redhawks in their early 19-point hole. The Rebels scored at least 21 points in each of the first three quarters before going deep into their bench in the fourth.

The Rebels know the points will be tougher to come by when they take on Jesup, which limited G-R to its lowest point total of the season by controlling the pace and slowing things down.

“They’re such a competitive and well-coached team,” G-R coach Scott Kiburis said of the J-Hawks. “They know their roles. We need to be a little smoother on offense, which is tough because they play good defense. Hopefully we can get a little more transition and not let them dictate the tempo of the game the whole time.”

Part of that pace will be dictated by the battle on the boards.

“They rebounded real well on the defensive end, they had a good defensive scheme and forced a couple turnovers. They made us take tough shots and they a hand in our face every time we shot. It will be competitive every time down the floor.”

The winner of Thursday’s game will face either West Central (20-3) or North Linn (18-5) in the Class 1A Substate 3 game Saturday at 7 p.m. in Independence.

Smoldt dished out five assists, while Kickbush and Pierce had four apiece and G-R had 20 on 31 made field goals. Kickbush and Pierce both grabbed six rebounds and Smoldt had three of his team’s nine steals.

Kaufmann paced the Redhawks with 15 points and Ben Panfil had eight.

Notebook

The Rebels defeated the Redhawks 94-56 in Reinbeck on Jan. 31. They edged the J-Hawks 52-51 on Jan. 27 in Jesup. … Kickbush spoke with a coach from Buena Vista University following the game.